Union and progressive activists are making their voices heard at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Follow live on Twitter, #OccupyCPAC.

Starting today and continuing next week, jobless workers in 15 states who face a Feb. 29 cutoff of their unemployment insurance (UI) will ask members of Congress back in their home districts to “Walk a Mile in My Shoes.” Republicans are holding a UI extension hostage by insisting on cutting 40 weeks of benefits and imposing onerous restrictions on jobless workers.

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 Live Tweeting from Occupy CPAC

 iSlaves: Forced Labor Key to Apple Profits

 Locked-Out Workers to Embark on Journey for Justice

 RTW Circus Continues in New Hampshire

 Ariz. Update: ‘Focus on Real Priorities,’ Union, Community Leaders Today at Capitol

 Occupy CPAC, Summit of the 1%

 Mine Workers Help Power America

Feb. 9, 2012

Pledge to support workers at American Airlines, 13,000 of whom face losing their jobs as the airline goes into bankruptcy.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the $25 billion foreclosure settlement with five of the nation’s biggest banks announced this morning by federal and state officials is a “step in addressing the housing and foreclosure crisis that plagues our country.” But he urges officials to continue their investigations into the “full range of illegal bank activities that caused this crisis and hold fraudsters accountable for their actions.”

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 Pledge Your Support for Workers at American Airlines

 Bill Would End Island Vacations for Corporate Taxes

 New Hampshire Lawmakers Try to End Worker Lunch Breaks

 Florida Protesters Greet Wisconsin’s Walker

 A Thousand Letters to Tom Corbett

Feb. 8, 2012

Noted economist Jared Bernstein makes the case for raising the minimum wage to restore its value.

Unemployment insurance (UI) for jobless workers expires Feb. 29, and Republican lawmakers want to slash federal benefits and impose harsh new restrictions. Click here to tell Congress it needs to renew UI benefits for a full year, with no cuts, no barriers to benefits and no strings attached.

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 The Minimum Wage: Time to Start Working on the Next Increase

 AFL-CIO Joins Re-Enactment of 1965 Selma to Montgomery March

 Arizona Update: Public and Private Workers in Solidarity

 RTW Still Wrong for New Hampshire

 Berman Back with New Lies About Unions

Feb. 7, 2012

Teaching and research assistants from New York University call on the National Labor Relations Board to restore their right to form unions.

The ties between the extreme conservative, corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Ohio lawmakers like Gov. John Kasich (R) run deep, according to a new report. Legislation that attacks workers’ rights and turns over government services to corporations are mirror images of ALEC’s “model” bills.

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 Teaching and Research Assistants Call on NLRB to Issue Decision

 Laborers Train Society’s ‘Left Behind’ for Green Jobs; Launch Green Local

 It’s on in Arizona

 After Two Decades of Darkness, a Daybreak in Burma?

Feb. 6, 2012

The State Department is making major revisions to a guest-worker and cultural exchange visa program after foreign students were exploited in a factory subcontracted by the Hershey Co.

In a series of weekend solidarity actions in Indiana, football players, construction workers, teachers and hotel housekeepers joined together in common purpose. Says AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, who took part in the events: “This year, as in Indiana, we will stand together for jobs and for economic freedom across the nation. And on Election Day, we’ll march to the ballot box to cast our votes for economic, social and political justice.”

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 State Dept. Cracks Down on Abuse of Foreign Students by Hershey and Others

 No Super Bowl Payoff for Hyatt Housekeepers

 Rep. Ellison Calls for End of Crystal Sugar Lockout

 Hey, ALEC! Gotcha!

 Take Action to Help Cleaning Workers in Netherlands

‘Brotherhood Outdoors’ Takes Sheet Metal Worker on Bow Hunt for Elk

Feb. 3, 2012

These Kentucky workers who voted to join the Machinists are among the more than 1,500 workers who’ve recently joined AFL-CIO unions.

The nation’s unemployment rate in January fell to 8.3 percent—down from December’s 8.5 percent—and the economy added 243,000 jobs, according to the latest figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. January’s jobless rate is the lowest since February 2009.

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 More than 1,500 Workers Join AFL-CIO Unions

 Affordable Care Act Saves Seniors $2.1 Billion in Drug Costs

 Hate the Pay Gap? Take the App Challenge

 ALEC Education ‘Academy’ Launches on Island Resort

 Important Note for Recent Union Plus Scholarship Applicants

Feb. 2, 2012

Check out this frightening report about how big corporations are plotting to take over vital government services.

More than 10,000 Indiana working people marched from the statehouse to the site of this Sunday’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis, telling lawmakers who passed a “right to work” for less bill, “Remember November.” They vowed to take the state back in a massive voter mobilization.

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 The Privatization of Public Services, State by State

 Small Biz Owners Say Job Exports, Not Regs Problem

 Arizona: The New Wisconsin

 Yep, That Makes Sense

 Retirees Occupy Century Aluminum

 Egypt’s New Labor Movement Comes of Age

Feb. 1, 2012

Tell the Labor Department to adopt a new rule bringing 2 million home care workers under federal minimum wage and overtime protections. Click here.

More than 1.6 million American jobs in the nation’s auto supply chain are at risk unless China’s illegal trade practices are curtailed, three new reports find. United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard says, “China is cheating unmercifully in this sector,” and he urged the U.S. government to “enforce our trade policies” and crack down on China’s trade violations.

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 Tell Labor Department to Adopt Home Care Worker Rule

 Working Family Candidate Wins Special Election in Oregon

 USW Reaches Tentative Deal with Oil Industry

‘Brotherhood Outdoors’ Voted Top Hunting/Fishing Show

Jan. 31, 2012

A new project labor agreement in Los Angeles creates transportation jobs for workers and the homeless.

A short-term extension of unemployment insurance (UI) for the nation’s jobless workers expires Feb. 29. Congressional Republicans are pushing a plan that would cost 2.8 million jobless workers their vital UI lifeline and impose harsh new restrictions on UI benefits and the unemployed.

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 L.A. Transportation PLA Offers Lifeline for Long-Term Jobless, Homeless

 U.S. Tops Developed World in Income Inequality

Jan. 30, 2012

Screen Actors Guild top honors last night included awards to actors from "The Help.”

Florida seniors speak out against a new law that would restrict voting rights for seniors, African Americans, Latinos and young voters.

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 ‘The Help’ Actors Receive Top SAG Awards as Union Boards Vote to Merge

 Rep. Miller Asks Justice Dept. for Investigation of Possible Coercion of NLRB Member

 Poverty Underlies Education System’s Shortcomings

 Pensions Aren’t the Problem for State Budgets

‘Downsized’: The Song

 This Is So Cool!